Opinion | Features

• Maurice, we don't think this is minor

  In this guest column, Bec Brideson weighs in on the fight between Maurice Levy and Sir Martin Sorrell on the issue of sexism in adland. The past few years have seen surprising facts come to light about some once-revered people. There was Rolf Harris guilty of abusing his celebrity, there’s 'America’s Dad' Bill Cosby getting found out for serial crimes against women, and of course George Pell, condemned for his silence and failure to act in the interest of the vulnerable. The bottom line is that times are changing, and tolerance for unacceptable behaviour is low. Privilege and power no longer shield old-boy networks from scrutiny or consequences.

• Programmatic targeting... for dummies

  In this test Timothy Whitfield pits six demand-side platforms against each other to find out how good programmatic offerings really are in Australia.  Following my previous article on hyper local geo-targeting I felt that it would be equally interesting to use scientific principle to forensically dissect another group of adtech companies that are often clumped together. Not knowing where to start I figured that I might as well start at the beginning of adtech: Demand Side Platforms (DSP).

• Addicted to social media? Try an e-fasting plan

  In this cross-posting from The Conversation Ritesh Chugh of CQUniversity Australia explains why scheduling time away from social media will make us not only more productive but more balanced. Social media is a double-edged sword, providing both benefits and drawbacks. In order to stay connected, many of us are becoming captivated by these pervasive tools. A social media report by Sensis in 2015 reported that nearly half of all Australians access one or more social networking sites every day.

• Damn Instagram, back at it again with the algorithm

  In this guest post Tym Yee discusses the content dilemma created by Instagram's adaption of an algorithmic feed and why simply 'creating better content' isn't enough. I’m glad we made it through the week. For a second there I didn’t think humanity could do it. I mean, Instagram was changing to an algorithmic feed, which is, like, totally the end of the world, right?

• Is selling out no longer a concept for Gen Z? 

  In this guest column Kara Richards discusses the line between authenticity and selling out for influencers who endorse multiple brands. Our traditional celebrities are often branded as 'sell-outs' when they align themselves with too many brands, but vloggers can peddle as many brands as they like without affecting their image in the slightest. They are the new brand ambassadors and their personal brands are mint. Even before they finish high school…

• 24 Hours With.... JWT creative director, Jarrod Lowe

  24 Hours With… spotlights the working day of some of the most interesting people in Mumbrella’s world. Today we speak with Jarrod Lowe, creative director, JWT, Melbourne. It’s the morning. It’s 6ish. The first thing I think about as I open my once baby blues, now offish greys, is how on earth we’re going to breed a new type of cow. Totally work related. I mean, I understand the circle of life but I wonder how we’ll do it on budget. I immediately Google cow gestation. Then skip breakfast.

• Why can’t it be April Fool's Day every day?

  In this guest post Simon Veksner says April Fool's Day is like the Super Bowl; it's the one day each year when brands make the ads they should be making all the time.  I’m not talking about the pranking part. I’m talking about the high levels of entertainment and relevance that marketers will be aiming for (and often achieving) today. Let’s start with the entertainment factor. There’s an analogy with the Super Bowl here: it’s the one day a year when brands make the kind of TV ads they ought to be making all the time – big, emotive, entertaining.

• Diversity needs time - just not the time you expect

  The call to advertising agency’s creative departments to become more diverse needs to start with recognition of where that diversity comes from, says guest columnist Karen Ferry. In the past 12 months, there’s been a lot of talk about how advertising creative departments don’t have enough diversity, especially in regards to women. There’s been talk about quotas. Talk of training to tackle unconscious bias. Telling women to ‘lean in’, CDs to ‘be uncomfortable’. We’ve seen clickbait lists of what’s holding women back and even more lists of what women can do to solve this.

• Politics and statistics: Will we get a new era of digital leadership with our new digital rankings?

  The new Nielsen Digital Ratings give a new window on Australia's online audiences. Nic Christensen looks at what they mean, what will come next and why the IAB won't follow through on talks of a regional merger. In the five plus years since Nielsen launched its hybrid digital ratings, measuring the online desktop audience, mobile usage has exploded, leaving many publishers grumbling their total audience wasn't being counted. It's been a slow and rocky path to get here, with a fair bit of argey bargey along the way - and it appears there will be yet more industry politicking to come as far as industry body the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is concerned. 

• Marketers need to stay marketers, not technologists

  In this guest column , Ant Gowthorp urges marketers to keep their focus - despite the tech demands placed on them. In the battle between humans and technology, there have been some casualties. We’ve seen privacy eroded, solitude eliminated and information set free amidst a rising tide of progress. While proving a force for good in our lives, technology has also elevated our expectations around effectiveness and productivity. By making everything much quicker and easier, it’s made us feel like we have to ‘do it all’.

• KFC launches stories about self acceptance as it changes the way consumers see the brand

  Just a few wee ks ago KFC launched its first ever branding campaign starring a duck. The world's second largest fast food chain has looked back in time to find the future of its marketing. Chief marketing officer Nikki Lawson reveals the journey the brand has taken to connect with a new generation of consumers. In January, TV viewers were treated to a new style of KFC ad. Not a piece of fried chicken was in sight - indeed the ad starred a superannuated duck riding a skateboard - but the ad reflected a new freedom for the brand that has been granted globally but is being tested locally.

• Brands, beware: Instagram is going algorithmic

  In this guest column George Pappas says Instagram's decision to change its feed from chronological to 'optimised' via a new algorithm, challenges brands to refine their message and improve the quality of their content. Instagram last week announced a major update – their feeds are moving from a real-time chronological order of content, to an algorithmically optimised collection of content that you’d prefer to see. According to the announcement on average we miss 70% of our feeds and as Instagram grows, so will the number of users we follow making the need for algorithmic optimisation more pertinent.

• Bedfellows no more? It's Foxtel versus Telstra in battle for online subscribers

  In this cross-posting from The Conversation Marc C-Scott of Victoria University argues recent moves by Tesltra and Foxtel make them competitors in the video streaming space. Foxtel has previously been coy about confirming speculation it is planning to launch a service that will compete with Telstra TV and Apple TV. But new chief executive Peter Tonagh has now told reporters that it would ‘maximise’ all its distribution platforms, leading to speculation it would launch against part-owner Telstra’s own device.

• Is it time to disrupt the murky media-agency business model?

  In this guest post Nico Neumann argues it is time for marketers to have a long hard look under the bonnet of their media agency's trading desk. The discussion around transparency, hidden income, and walled gardens reached a new milestone this month when TubeMogul released their ‘manifesto of independence’. One of the key issues raised by TubeMogul is the conflict of interest when a company is making money from being both seller and buyer for the same transaction. It’s crucial to bring this practice to the attention of advertisers and TubeMogul should be commended for their efforts in doing so.

• Why programmatic platforms will never be equal across media in the foreseeable future

  In this guest column, Lee Stephens argues that while programmatic platforms are the future, comparing data on reach and impact is still some way off. With half of all digital media planned programmatically in Australia, it is easy to ignore major developments in ‘other’ media. MCN has managed to build awareness of its entry into programmatic TV with AOL. Indeed, in late 2015 MCN, boss Anthony Fitzgerald announced a better than forecast uptake by media agencies. And it is selling programmatic advertising across Foxtel and Ten. While working from a small base, MCN has clearly taken the lead over the TV networks and is entering unchartered territory for TV trading in Australia and overseas.